1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a continuous microcassette tape and more specifically to a microcassette or case for use in such a manner that the tape housed therein is useable for hours to reproduce responsive messages carried in general industrial equipment, such as telephone message recorders and toys having a mechanism for voice recording and reproduction.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The prior art to which the present invention is directed includes the art of endless cassette tapes described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,764,084 and 4,367,850. Such an endless cassette tape is capable of continuous travel because the tape is pulled off the innermost convolution and is returned to the outermost convolution, as a reel turns.
In case the quantity of the tape let out is greater than that of the tape being wound up, the tape will slacken. The slackened tape may be caught under a pinch roller and caused to fall off the reel. When the tape has slackened, moreover, the cassette must be disassembled and the reel must be turned manually in order to nullify the slackening. As a result, it is necessary to prevent such a tape from slackening.
The microcassette tape tends to be caught under a pinch roller particularly because the radius of the roller is small and this has resulted in an urgent need to meet the demand for endless microcasette tapes capable of stable travel.
On the other hand, a tape recorder containing a microcassette tape is normally compact and often carried as a portable recorder though it may sometimes be placed in a fixed position. In the case of the former, the endless tape is subjected to vibration and rocking and caused to slacken when the recorder is moved. Furthermore, the tape could slacken while being transported for delivery.